From the day she was born I called Kalei, “My Sweetie Pie”. It wasn’t because she was that sweet in those early months; in fact she was such a colicky baby, even the older Grandmothers who knew ‘everything’ about babies would quickly hand her back to me because she would not stop crying. I called her that because it was her special name and made her feel loved.

Growing up Kalei was quite precocious. When she was three years old she decided that just having a mom was not enough. On a Saturday trip to the mall, with dogged determination that held absolutely no fear, she said to every man we passed, “Do you want to marry my mom?” At three she did not factor in age, current marital status, etc. so some of the looks I received were quite comical. Needless to say, it was a very short shopping trip that day.

Once she reached grade one, school, dancing and singing became her passions. After one choir audition, the director said to me, “You know she has a four octave range don’t you?” As I was not a singer myself, all I could do was try and look guilty and proud at the same time as I was not exactly sure which response was appropriate. Whatever her range, she sang like an angel.

I enrolled Kalei in a Fine Arts School when she entered grade 4. She loved everything about it…her teachers, friends and most of all, the art classes. Just like singing, art came naturally to her. That might explain why she was so critical of her work. Fortunately I was able to save a few pieces before they were relegated to the trash bin.

My daughter loved drama; the on the stage kind and the let’s make life interesting kind. Her friends always counted on Kalei to spin a tale when they wanted to turn a dreary day into an exciting one. When it came time to put together videos for class assignments, there were plenty of volunteers to join her group. I participated in most of them as I was the official recorder to what often ended up being a full scale TV production. Unfortunately, the quality of my camera work turned out to be less than professional because I was either laughing so hard the camera shook or my role involved me chasing the actors and actresses down the sidewalk while trying not to trip and fall over. It did not matter to Kalei for she loved everything about the acting process, even shots of only grass.

I loved watching my Sweetie Pie live her life. Whether it was helping her learn how to walk, watching her present flowers to the Governor General of Canada and his wife, her first day of school, the Grade 2 concert where she sang “My Boyfriends Back” and had the audience in stiches watching her portray ‘sincere’ emotion, making me breakfast in bed on mother’s day, dressing up her dog Miss Ellie in girl clothes or witnessing her rushing to the defence of a wounded friend, every moment was precious.

A few weeks after she died, her friend Kirsten brought me a letter Kalei wrote just before she went to the farm that last time. The words below come from the last page of that letter and they perfectly embody the essence of my child.

I can think of no better way to end your introduction to Kalei Jasmine Mahealani Kahapea Holizki than by letting her speak for herself…